City of Portland wants your take on restricting, shaping housing boom

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland’s Housing Bureau has released a comprehensive summary of suggested restrictions, guidelines and ordinances that would shape the future of the city’s growing residential landscape, and next month officials are giving the public two opportunities to weigh in.

The 30-page report, already submitted to the city council, is titled the “Residential Infill Project”.

It estimates, within the city of Portland, “123,000 new households are projected by 2035."

Officials write their goal is to “…address overlapping concerns related to these changes:

• The number of demolitions and the size of infill houses. • Increasing housing costs and the loss of affordability. • Lack of housing choices, especially in high-opportunity neighborhoods. • The impact of narrow-lot development rules on both neighborhood character and the loss of opportunities for needed infill housing.

Suggested restrictions include:

-Establish a limit on house size that is proportional to lot size and zone using a floor area ratio (FAR) - Restrict height to 2½ stories on standard lots -Apply a housing opportunity overlay zone… within a ¼ mile (about five blocks) of centers, corridors with frequent bus service, and high capacity transit (MAX) stations